Assassinatrix06
6:02:16 PM Canto: So it has been, we'll say a couple weeks since you hooked up with your new band. 6:03:08 PM Crow: Crow likes them a lot already! It helps that they're all badass, of course. 6:06:53 PM Canto: You've kind of settled in, and you've even worked a job with them -- large canine monster called a Barghest was preying on cattle and you and the others tracked it to its lair and killed it. Your ability to sense monsters was a very useful tool, and Jasper is talking about wanting to help you refine it so you can become an even better tracker. 6:11:19 PM Crow: Crow has gradually let her actual personality come out again after a while, once they know all the snark isn't meanness! 6:12:13 PM Canto: They're all pretty happy to have you there. Felix was a bit grumpy after the barghest business, mostly because he didn't get to shoot it... you and Ruby killed it in its cave. 6:15:03 PM Crow: Crow is extra conciliatory to him afterward! or... teases him more, actually, but whatever! 6:21:52 PM Canto: He takes either fairly good-naturedly! 6:22:35 PM Crow: Crow is mostly trying to find her place on the team. 6:24:38 PM Canto: It's not that hard. As far as fighting style, she and Ruby mesh together pretty well -- Ruby's a power fighter, usually relying on her strength and reach. She's not slow, but she doesn't really fight with finesse. 6:24:48 PM Canto: Albert doesn't fight at all, and Felix is a marksman. 6:25:16 PM Canto: Ruby also doesn't have your assassin skills. She's not terribly quiet. 6:25:54 PM Crow: Crow is very quiet! And ridiculously patient. 6:26:42 PM Canto: Ruby's not good at that, either. 6:30:26 PM Crow: Crow fights with her brains! And two machetes, those help, brains are too squashy to be good weapons. 6:33:49 PM Canto: Yep! So really, you mesh in pretty well. 6:35:16 PM Crow: Crow tries! 6:38:54 PM Canto: also, no weird dreams in all that time, either. 6:40:01 PM Crow: Crow will snugglepile with anyone in the group willing! It would be kind of weird if Jasper was, but as long as it's platonic snugglepiling she'd be amenable. 6:42:22 PM Canto: Generally she sleeps with Felix in the RV. Sometimes they're all in the RV. Jasper gets his own bed, but she can snuggle with Ruby and Felix when Ruby sleeps in the big bed. 6:45:08 PM Crow: Crow likes it! Probably not very conventional, but she was kind of starved for people. 6:47:25 PM Canto: You kinda get the vibe that given the limited bedding in the RV, Ruby slept in Felix's bed quite a bit anyway since both of them refused to sleep on the floor. Also Felix and Ruby probably have an off-again on-again thing. 6:49:17 PM Crow: Crow is not going to get in the way of that. 6:58:30 PM Canto: They seem to be off right now! 7:00:18 PM Crow: Crow still doesn't wanna get in the way! 7:02:09 PM Canto: The last mission was one of those 'we don't get paid' jobs... the one you're on the way to now is one of those 'we charge rich people' jobs -- an old mansion is haunted and you're off to investigate it. 7:04:46 PM Crow: Crow asks them to tell her everything about ghosts! 7:04:55 PM Crow: Crow tells them about the other haunted house that she helped. 7:08:27 PM Canto: Felix is excited. Jasper is introspective. Ruby is nervous. 7:08:33 PM Canto: Felix: ...she hates scary movies, too. 7:09:10 PM Crow: Aww, really? 7:09:16 PM Crow: No Saw marathon, then? 7:09:43 PM Canto: Ruby: Those aren't scary! Just gory. 7:10:57 PM Canto: Ruby: I do not do well with jump-scares. Or those asian-style movies where it's just non-stop suspense and weird visuals. 7:11:12 PM Crow: So... no Ringu. 7:12:45 PM Canto: She shivers. 7:13:37 PM Canto: Jasper: Our client wants to turn this mansion into a hotel. Apparently the top floors caught on fire back in the sixties. 7:13:58 PM Crow: How many people died? 7:19:18 PM Canto: Jasper: According to official records, no one. but. Ghosts don't come out of nowhere. 7:19:33 PM Crow: So they must've died. Or else they were there before. 7:22:01 PM Canto: Felix: It was the sixties. They were too busy doing drugs and having sex to be arsed to take accurate records. 7:23:08 PM Crow: Shame we missed the fun. And weren't there to take accurate records. 7:24:29 PM | Edited 7:24:41 PM Canto: Jasper: Ghosts in situations like this are bound to something. Sometimes they're even caught in an unending pantomime of the circumstances they died under. 7:25:57 PM Crow: ... that's awful. How do we interrupt the cycle? 7:31:05 PM Canto: Jasper: A lot of times, they just want someone to know hwhat happened. 7:32:14 PM Crow: Oh. I'm a great listener! 7:32:46 PM Canto: Jasper: Sometimes there's an object or a focus that needs to be recovered. 7:33:55 PM Crow: I can do that too. 7:36:07 PM Canto: Jasper smiles. "We alll can. Now, witnesses report feelings of unease, aggression, terror. Lights go on and off -- and keep in mind that this place hasn't had power in decades. People report the smell of the fire on the upper floors, some have even felt the heat." 7:36:39 PM Canto: Jasper: Apparitions, too. People have spotted a man and a woman in various parts of the house, both covered in blood. 7:36:43 PM Canto: Ruby: ... fantastic. 7:37:14 PM Crow: Well, that's... wait, fire doesn't usually cause copious amounts of bleeding. 7:37:19 PM Crow: Just... you know, cooking. 7:41:49 PM Canto: Felix: Indicating it wasn't just a fire. 7:41:56 PM Canto: Jasper: Right. So we'll have to do some digging, kids. 7:42:46 PM Crow: Oh, yay. 7:43:14 PM Canto: Jasper: We won't be able to kill our way through this one. 7:43:22 PM Canto: Felix: ... I won't be able to try out my ghost-bullets? 7:43:55 PM Canto: Ruby: Felix bought 'genuine ectoplasm' off eBay. 7:44:15 PM Canto: Ruby: I'm 99% sure it's just Nickolodean 'Gak'. 7:45:10 PM Crow: Is there a way to test it? 7:45:40 PM Canto: Felix: I did. All I know is that it's non-toxic. 7:46:30 PM Crow: You tested it by eating it? 7:46:53 PM Canto: Felix: ... no, i used chemicals and stuff on it. 7:47:16 PM Crow: ... you were the paste connoisseur in kindergarten, weren't you. 7:47:20 PM Crow: Reeeeeeeeeeeally? 7:48:37 PM Canto: Felix: Of course I didn't eat it! It might or might not be ectoplasm! 7:49:01 PM Canto: Jasper: Ectoplasm almost always discorporates within a few moments, Felix. 7:49:14 PM Canto: Felix: the buyer said they found a way to preserve it. 7:49:30 PM Canto: Ruby: By filling a vile with Gak and calling it ectoplasm! 7:49:41 PM Canto: Felix: You'll all be sorry when you need my ghost bullets. 7:49:47 PM Crow: I wanna see. 7:50:18 PM Canto: Felix: I'll show you when we get there. 7:50:45 PM Crow: Okay! 7:50:46 PM Canto: Speaking of which, Felix turns down a long, overgrown wooded driveway. 7:50:51 PM Crow: What else should I know about ghosts? 7:52:04 PM Canto: Jasper: Behind what we've talked about, ghosts are pretty singular. There's no set 'rules' for them. Some can move around obects, some can't. Some can possess people, some can't. Some are conscious beings, some are just echoes stuck on 'repeat'. 7:53:32 PM Crow: I hope we don't get possessed. 7:54:12 PM Canto: Ruby: It suuuuuuuuuuuucks. 7:55:18 PM Crow: Been there and done that? 7:57:15 PM Canto: Ruby: Yeah. Once was this demon imp thing. That... weirdly wasn't so bad. It couldn't control me, just talked in my head and was really really annoying. The second time was this other critter, I forget what it was. I was pretty much just a puppet, trapped in my body. 7:57:43 PM Canto: Felix: that was a puppeteer. Can't believe you forgot the name. That's pretty much all it did. 7:58:20 PM Crow: Gross. 7:58:41 PM Crow: Vampires have this thing they do where you just.... desperately want to make them happy. It's pretty awful. 7:59:27 PM Canto: Ruby: Then there was the siren that hypnotized me. 7:59:33 PM Canto: Felix: She broke my nose. 8:00:10 PM Crow: An actual Siren? Like out of The Odyssey? 8:01:56 PM Canto: Ruby: Kind of. Ugh. Ex-boy band singer who pursued a solo career. he got me good. I used to really be into BoyZ. 8:02:17 PM Canto: Ruby: can't even listen to a boy band now. 8:02:32 PM Canto: Felix: And Ruby broke my nose because of him. 8:03:11 PM Crow: Wow. 8:03:24 PM Crow: ... looks good, though, it gives your face character. 8:04:31 PM Canto: Ruby: Realy, you don't have much to worry about, Crow, because whenever someone needs to get possessed or hypnotized or charmed or Manchurianed, it's me. 8:05:38 PM Crow: ... huh. Why? 8:05:55 PM Canto: Ruby: Just lucky, I guess. 8:06:46 PM Canto: Jasper: Because Ruby's usually in their face. Felix is a mile away looking through a scope and I don't fight, so I'm usually behind Ruby if I"m on site at all. 8:07:36 PM Crow: ... you don't fight? 8:08:04 PM Canto: Ruby: I generally get to bludgeon things to death, though, too. 8:08:55 PM Canto: Felix: ...manchurianed? I like it. Sounds like a mongolian-grill type restaraunt franchise. 8:10:39 PM Crow: ... now I'm hungry. Darn it, Felix. 8:11:31 PM Canto: Felix: Well, we should eat before heading into the house of the damned then. 8:13:57 PM Crow: Are there any burritos left? 8:15:06 PM Canto: Felix: Just bean and cheese. 8:16:04 PM Crow: Is there any Beano left? 8:17:38 PM Canto: Felix: Probably. Check the medicine cabinet. 8:18:36 PM Canto: you pull up in front of the house! It's a nice old place, pretty big. Four stories, with most of the forth story and some of the third gutted by fire. 8:20:00 PM Crow: Crow goes for the beano and snarfs down any leftovers that are just lying around that need to be eaten up. 8:22:39 PM Canto: Felix: ...well, that's spooky. 8:23:03 PM Crow: Nah, it's just an oli... oh. 8:25:57 PM Canto: Ruby: He wants to make a hotel out of this? 8:28:29 PM Crow: ... well, it'd have a lot of rooms. 8:28:32 PM Crow: Crow peers at it. 8:33:20 PM Canto: Roll a die! 8:34:04 PM Crow: ((4!)) 8:36:28 PM Canto: It's pretty eerie! And though it's about 4 in the afternoon, the surrounding overgrown forest makes it all seem a lot darker. 8:38:30 PM Crow: Spooky! Let's go. Unless you want me to stay in the van with the dog and hit the bong and eat inexplicably-appearing sandwiches. 8:39:04 PM Canto: Jasper: We might not see a lot of activity until night falls. 8:39:08 PM Canto: Ruby: Of course. 8:39:34 PM Canto: Ruby: that would be silly, to do this during the daytime. Of course we have to wait until it's dark and terrifying. 8:39:59 PM Crow: Well we could start in the daytime! Map the house. 8:40:06 PM Crow: It'll be dark in there anyway, so it probably won't matter. 8:40:48 PM Canto: Jasper: I'm not saying we shouldn't start digging now. I'm just saying we might not see any activity until the sun goes down. 8:40:57 PM Canto: Ruby: Wouldn't that be a shame. 8:41:22 PM Crow: Yeah! 8:41:31 PM Crow: Oh, that was sarcasm. Well I'm all out of burritos, let's go. 8:45:08 PM Crow: Crow hops out of the van and heads for the house! 8:47:37 PM Canto: You guys pile out of the RV! 8:49:21 PM Crow: Crow immediately goes up to the house! No self preservation instincts at all. 8:51:56 PM Canto: the door is locked! 8:52:05 PM Canto: Jasper: I have a key, hold on. 8:52:10 PM Canto: Felix: Huh. 8:52:16 PM Canto: Felix: No graffiti. 8:53:34 PM Crow: It's too scary to graffiti. 9:00:21 PM Canto: Your spider sense is tingly! Very tingly. 9:02:07 PM Crow: Ooh. Yeah, it's way haunty in there. 9:02:17 PM Crow: Crow zips in once Jasper opens the door! 9:03:13 PM Canto: There's a foyer! Cobweby, musty, with an expensive chandolier hanging over a couple of curving staircases leading up to a mezzanine. 9:03:41 PM Crow: ... Wow. 9:03:53 PM Crow: Okay, I've only seen things like this on TV or while they were burning down. 9:07:25 PM Crow: Crow starts snooping! 9:08:27 PM Canto: You go up the stairs or stay on the first floor? 9:08:51 PM Canto: Jasper has everone put ther headsets on. 9:09:28 PM Crow: Crow does. 9:09:57 PM Crow: Crow starts humming the score from some creepy movie. Probably Silence of the Lambs. 9:20:49 PM Canto: Ruby: Not helping. 9:21:14 PM Crow: Crow snrks. 9:21:17 PM Crow: Sorry. 9:23:44 PM Crow: Crow keeps snooping around the foyer, before moving on to trace the next room. She'll maintain a pattern by covering the ground floor first. 9:24:02 PM Canto: Roll a die. 9:25:41 PM Crow: ((8!)) 9:27:08 PM Canto: Basically, as you walk in, there's the foyer and the stairs up to the mezzanine and the rest of the scond floor. To the east and the est are wings that stretch the length of the house. Which way do you go? 9:30:03 PM Crow: Crow will just keep turning right until she's covered the whole thing! So right. 9:37:31 PM Crow: Crow goes right? 9:38:10 PM Canto: Well, you have to backtrack eventually as you'll run out of right turns. First floor is offices! 9:38:17 PM Canto: ((Sorry, I forgot to press Enter.)) 9:38:36 PM Crow: Crow can do that too! 9:39:17 PM Canto: But yeah, in that wing, first floor, you mostly find offices. You get to a door at the end of the hallway and you can see a light on under the door. 9:39:53 PM Crow: ... huh. 9:39:57 PM Crow: Crow opens the door! 9:41:32 PM Canto: There's a woman in there, in a white dress, covered with blood, leaning heavily over a large wooden desk, then the light goes out. When your eyes adjust to the darkness, she's not there anymore. 9:43:51 PM Crow: ... hello? Ma'am? 9:44:20 PM Canto: No one there! 9:44:38 PM Canto: Jasper comes over your headset. "You see something?" 9:46:34 PM Crow: Yeah, a lady in a white dress covered in blood, leaning over this desk in here. 9:46:40 PM Crow: Crow inspects the desk! 9:56:06 PM Canto: Newspaper clipping! 9:56:27 PM Canto: Well, not a clipping. More like part of a newspaper page that is completely singed along the edges. 9:59:09 PM Crow: ... but this part of the building didn't catch on fire.... 9:59:16 PM Crow: Crow reads it, what there is of it! 10:00:12 PM Canto: --urder at Hill House!" That's the headlline. What you can make out of it, which isn't a lot, talks about a husband, a wife, and a murder followed by a fire. 10:01:47 PM Crow: GET THE FUCK OUT!! THIS IS ACTUALLY HILL HOUSE? OH MY FUCKING GOD. 10:02:10 PM Crow: Crow does a little wriggly dance and squees. 10:02:28 PM Crow: This is the coolest thing ever!! 10:04:39 PM | Edited 10:04:47 PM Crow: Meep. 10:05:00 PM Crow: You guys you guys! This place is totally called Hill House! Seriously! 10:05:39 PM Canto: Felix: .... this true, Jasper? 10:06:05 PM Canto: Ruby: Oh god, like that movie? Where Owen Wilson gets killed in the fireplace? 10:07:51 PM Crow: YES! 10:08:06 PM Crow: I don't think it's that Hill House though. But it's cool! 10:09:07 PM Crow: ... sorry, ghosts, I should be more reverent. I do wanna help, you know. 10:10:21 PM Canto: You get the impression, from the clipping, that there was a gruesome murder here just priior to the fire. 10:10:33 PM Canto: Maybe like a day before the fire. 10:10:47 PM Crow: ... awful. 10:11:00 PM Crow: Crow relays this to the others. 10:11:14 PM Crow: Maybe the fire was set to cover up the evidence. 10:16:46 PM Canto: Jasper: Huh. Well, our client isn't the original owner. 10:17:59 PM Canto: Jasper: but he got it for a steal, khe said. 10:18:16 PM Crow: I bet. 10:21:01 PM Crow: Crow takes the scrap with her and checks the desk one more time before she keeps exploring! 10:22:20 PM Canto: nope, nothing else in that wing. Roll again for me. 10:22:49 PM Crow: ((1, man. >.<)) 10:23:44 PM Canto: You hear a scream! So loud you swear it's in your own head. Bloodcurdling, from the foyer. 10:23:59 PM Crow: Crow jumps about a foot and then runs back to the foyer! 10:28:05 PM Canto: You find Jasper, Ruby, ad Felix there! Felix and Jasper are looking over their gear and Ruby is fidgeting near the door. Felix looks up. "What's wrong?" 10:28:18 PM Crow: ... are you guys all right? 10:28:24 PM Crow: Did you hear that? 10:28:36 PM Canto: Jasper: Hear what? 10:29:08 PM Crow: ... I heard a scream, from here. 10:30:18 PM Canto: Ruby: Trust me, if someone screamed, i would have heard it, and it probably would have been me. 10:32:08 PM Crow: Huh. 10:32:37 PM | Edited 10:32:53 PM Canto: Jasper: ...what kind of scream was it? 10:32:56 PM Crow: Bloodcurdling and very loud. 10:34:03 PM Canto: Jasper: Male or female? 10:34:10 PM Canto: ((Roll.)) 10:34:40 PM Crow: ((4.)) 10:35:10 PM Canto: You're not sure if it was male or female. Just loud and terrified! 10:36:02 PM Crow: I don't know. It sounded afraid, though. 10:37:01 PM Canto: Jasper makes a face. "Hrm. So this whole place is a bit more active than I thought it would be. 10:37:29 PM Crow: Apparently. 10:37:31 PM Canto: Jasper: Felix, get the cameras set up, this is gonna be our base here. 10:38:24 PM Crow: Cameras? 10:45:14 PM Canto: Felix: Yeah, infrared and motion detectors and all that stuff. 10:45:38 PM Crow: Wow, high-tech! Okay. 10:45:50 PM Crow: I'll keep exploring, then, should I? 4:31:23 PM Canto: Ruby: I'll go with you, it'll help to move around a bit. 4:31:56 PM Crow: Okay! 4:32:31 PM Crow: C'mon. 4:32:38 PM Crow: Crow goes back to where she was and continues exploring. 4:32:43 PM Crow: So you get possessed a lot, huh? 4:35:14 PM Canto: Ruby: Isn't once too many? I don't know that I woud say 'a lot'. but generally if we fight something that has some kind of mental mojo, I'm the one that gets it, yeah. 4:36:10 PM Crow: I guess you're closer to the action. And Jasper is all "the power of Christ compels thee" or whatever. 4:37:27 PM Canto: Ruby: Basically. I mean, it's not like I deal with it every time. More often than not we kill something before it can use any of its really freaky powers. 4:39:56 PM Crow: Well, fortunately I've been hypnotized so many times I'm not even totally sure my name is really mine, so hopefully whatever it is doesn't work on me. 4:40:27 PM Canto: Ruby: We should start a support group. 4:41:37 PM Crow: We are a support group. 4:41:40 PM Crow: Crow grins. 4:44:55 PM Canto: Ruby: Mmm, good point. 4:45:28 PM Canto: You guys go down the west wing of the first floor. You find a bar and an attached dining room and kitchen down here. 4:45:36 PM Canto: Ruby: Oh hey, a dumbwaiter. 4:47:09 PM Crow: Wonder how many corpses are inside. 4:47:11 PM Crow: Crow checks. 4:50:01 PM Canto: None! Just a single severed head. All bloody. It's a woman! She opens her eyes as you look at her. Then the dumbwaiter slams shut. 4:50:21 PM Canto: Ruby, who was poking around behind the bar, eeks at the sudden noise! 4:50:42 PM Crow: Hi--oh, she's gone. 4:50:57 PM Canto: Ruby: ...who? Who's gone? 4:51:08 PM Crow: Oh, the severed head lady. 4:51:23 PM Crow: It looked really uncomfortable just being a head. I hope her nose doesn't itch in the afterlife. 4:51:57 PM Canto: Ruby: ... severed head lady? I hate this. 4:52:34 PM Canto: Ruby: What are you on? Why are you so calm if you ust saw a severed head? Can I have some? 4:53:05 PM Crow: Crow shrugs. 4:53:14 PM Crow: Well I did just have like, four burritos. 4:53:22 PM Crow: Maybe it's the capsaicin? 4:54:26 PM Canto: Ruby: Remind me to eat more of those. 4:54:52 PM Crow: Too late, there aren't any left. 4:56:17 PM Canto: Ruby: .... so. Severed head. And if we reopen the dumbwaiter it'll probably have disappeared. 4:57:20 PM Crow: Probably! 4:57:25 PM Crow: Crow checks. And leaves it open. 4:57:33 PM Canto: Yep! Empty. 4:57:47 PM Crow: That way if she turns up again at least she can see out. 5:00:53 PM Canto: Ruby: ...thoughtful? 5:01:07 PM Canto: Ruby: Man, all the booze is still here. That's weird. 5:01:29 PM Crow: That's very weird. 5:01:48 PM Crow: People are afraid to come here, I guess. Even to vandalise it. 5:02:13 PM Canto: She nods. 5:03:57 PM Crow: Crow keeps poking around, checking inside cupboards and the like. 5:11:03 PM Canto: So does Ruby! It looks like, basically, people ran because of the fire, and everything was left exactly where it was. Old ashtrays, dirty glasses left where they were.... 5:11:39 PM Crow: Crow looks for anything unusual or out of place. 5:11:45 PM Canto: Gimme a roll! 5:12:59 PM Crow: ((5!)) 5:18:24 PM Canto: Ruby: Hey, look at this. 5:18:34 PM Canto: She pulls out an old scrapbook from under the bar. 5:18:42 PM Crow: Neat! 5:18:49 PM Crow: Crow stands next to her and peers at it. 5:25:59 PM Canto: Ruby: Huh. It's a bunch of pictures and articles from the construction of the house. 5:26:26 PM Canto: She points to some very yellowed articles and pictures at the start that show the house being built. 5:28:59 PM Crow: Wow, neat! 5:29:08 PM Crow: Is it on top of an Indian burial ground? Can you tell? 5:32:07 PM Canto: Ruby: According to this article, the land was bought from the Indians. So... probably not? 5:32:29 PM Canto: Ruby: Unless they're using 'bought' as a euphemism for 'pillaged' like history likes to do. 5:32:44 PM Crow: Or it was an Indian burial ground from the other guys' tribe. 5:37:01 PM Canto: Ruby: Mmm. I can buy that. 5:37:16 PM Canto: Ruby flips pages. Roll! 5:37:26 PM Crow: Tribal rivalries can be pretty intense. 5:37:44 PM Crow: ((6!)) 5:41:38 PM Canto: You think you recognize one of the faces that in one of the old pictures that Ruby flips past. 5:43:22 PM Crow: Wait, go back one. 5:43:26 PM Crow: There, that one! 5:47:50 PM Crow: Crow points. 5:49:45 PM Canto: She flips back. The pciture is from the 20s, and there's a woman in a group picture that looks extremely familiar. Rollolololol! 5:51:18 PM Crow: ((4. Godddddddddd. Stupid dice.)) 5:55:26 PM Canto: You can't quite place her! it wasn't the face of the ghost lady, or the head in the dumbwaiter, though. 5:55:32 PM Canto: Ruby: What about her? 5:55:43 PM Crow: I don't know. ... she looks familiar somehow. 5:55:46 PM Crow: But she's not our ghosts. 5:56:03 PM Crow: The two I've met, anyway. 5:59:54 PM Canto: Ruby: ... man. this place is messed up. 6:00:50 PM Crow: It's kind of awesome, though, isn't it? 6:01:01 PM Crow: Dig that inlaid tile in the stairwell room. 6:02:51 PM Canto: Ruby: It'll make a great haunted hotel where Jack Nicholson tries to kill his family, that's for sure. 6:03:11 PM Crow: Nah, we'll fix it! 6:03:20 PM Crow: Help the ghosties, and then it can be used again. 6:03:30 PM Crow: Reduce, Reuse, Reeeeeecycle. 6:05:34 PM Canto: Ruby smiles. "Isn't that the necromancer motto?" 6:05:59 PM Crow: EPA. Nah, I don't know, but it's a good one. 6:06:06 PM Crow: Crow keeps looking at the scrapbook. 6:12:16 PM Canto: Roll again please! 6:12:27 PM Crow: ((8!)) 6:14:42 PM Canto: There's a big picture on one of the pages, but you catch that there's another picture or something under that picture in the book! 6:16:53 PM Crow: .... huh. 6:16:58 PM Crow: Crow tries to scrape it off. 6:24:44 PM Canto: You find another picture! It's an old one, and a date written in ink on the back of it says 6-1921. 6:25:13 PM Canto: It's a guy who is standing next to a coffin, that looks like it was dug up from the basement of the house -- after the house had been built. 6:26:14 PM Crow: Not that long ago. Coffins, huh? 6:26:21 PM Crow: We should check the basement. 6:29:17 PM Canto: Ruby: ... that's what peolpe say before they get ghost-murdered, Crow. 6:30:50 PM Crow: Really? in my house that's where we kept the beer. 6:30:57 PM Crow: Crow looks for steps down! 6:32:57 PM Canto: You find door near the end of this hallway. It opens as you approach it revealing a very narrow staircase leading down itno darkness. 6:34:37 PM Crow: Nice and creepy. 6:34:54 PM Crow: Crow turns on the flashlight (they MUST have brought flashlights) and heads down the steps! 6:40:04 PM Canto: Yep! It's a very narrow staircase. Ruby is pretty uncomfortable as she has pretty broad hips and shoulders. 6:40:26 PM Crow: Crow practically skips down 'em, and goes first, peering into the darkness to see if she can spot a ghostie. 6:47:08 PM Canto: You walk down the stairs. At the end of teh stairs there's a narrow hallway leading right and left. You just get to the bottom of the stairs when you hear a bloodcurdling scream! A woman in a white bloody dress runs past you, screaming, looking over her shoulder as she flees down the hallway to your right. 6:47:11 PM Canto: Ruby: Agh! 6:48:09 PM Crow: Crow waits for the second ghost! 6:49:42 PM Canto: There isn't one. 6:51:06 PM Crow: ... huh. 6:51:33 PM Crow: Crow keeps going down the hallway, then, looking for ghosts or corpses or mysterious graves. 6:51:41 PM Canto: Ruby: ...seriously, can I have some of your pot?! HOW ARE YOU SO CALM. 6:53:39 PM Crow: I'm curious. Aren't you? 6:54:38 PM Crow: 'cause normally you don't bury someone that deep. Below basement level? It's six feet under, not like... ten, twelve feet under. 6:55:05 PM Crow: So maybe they were buried that deep for a really good reason, like guilt. Or maybe they were buried after the house was built. 6:58:16 PM Canto: Ruby: No! not curious! I don't like sudden screaming women! 6:59:09 PM Crow: ... my first impulse right there was to scream, but you've got weapons. 6:59:35 PM Crow: Anyway, it's probably not her fault, she's dead. If I was dead, I'd scream too. Seems reasonable. 6:59:45 PM Crow: Crow shrugs, and keeps looking! 7:04:58 PM Canto: Which way down the tiny hallway do you go? The way the ghost ran from, or the way she ran to? 7:05:13 PM Crow: Crow goes the from direction first. 7:11:20 PM Canto: okay! you go down the hallway and find yourself in a hot boiler room, filled with pipes. 7:12:57 PM Crow: Crow inspects the floor. 7:14:24 PM Canto: Roll! 7:15:05 PM Crow: ((8!)) 7:20:58 PM Canto: You see someone moving behind a bunch of pipes. One of them pops, a rivet shooting out and ricocheting around the small stone room like a bullet, and filling the room with hot steam! The door slams behind you. 7:21:20 PM Crow: Oh, crap. 7:21:52 PM Crow: Crow still looks for the person/ghost behind the pipes! 7:28:54 PM Canto: Someone is creeping! they have something in their hands, but you can't really make out a lot of them, just, like... one inch glimpses. 7:29:06 PM Crow: Hey! 7:29:13 PM Crow: Ruby, get the door open, 'kay? 7:29:47 PM Canto: Ruby: Right! 7:29:55 PM Canto: You hear her struggling with the door. 7:30:25 PM Canto: Another rivet pops! You feel it whip by your ear. 7:30:30 PM Crow: Meep. 7:30:33 PM Canto: FSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHH. 7:30:35 PM Crow: Hey, stop that, whoever you are! 7:30:50 PM Canto: More steam fills the room. Starting to feel like a sauna. 7:31:18 PM Crow: ... crap. 7:31:35 PM Crow: Crow stops pursuing the person/ghost and tries to help with the door. 7:34:57 PM Canto: The doorknob gets hot! The door is mostly metal. 7:35:09 PM Canto: Pew! another rivet, and FSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHH. 7:35:13 PM Crow: Shit. 7:35:22 PM Canto: You think youc an see another door, through the small maze of pipes. 7:35:32 PM | Removed 7:39:10 PM Crow: This message has been removed. 7:36:09 PM | Removed 7:39:15 PM Crow: This message has been removed. 7:37:55 PM Canto: ((Ruby's on the other side of the door.)) 7:38:39 PM Crow: ((Oh, I thought she came with me! Sorry.)) 7:38:55 PM Crow: There's another way out, I'll find you! 7:39:16 PM Canto: ((I wasn't clear, my bad.)) 7:40:13 PM Canto: Roll again. 7:41:39 PM Crow: ((8! Three in a row now.)) 7:45:55 PM Crow: Crow tries to get back there! 7:50:15 PM Canto: Okay! You spot that figure on the other side of the pipes who is stalking you through the hot mist! It's holding an axe. 7:51:46 PM Crow: Hey! 7:51:57 PM Crow: Crow runs after them and hopefully out of the scary sauna murder room! 7:55:36 PM Canto: It's getting hot in here! The mist is extremly disorienting, and the ghost is always just out of view, you can only see it through the pipes. 7:56:47 PM Crow: Crow closes her eyes, visualizes the room in her head and heads for where she believes she saw the door, slowly and carefully. She's accustomed to losing vision in a smoke-filled room. 7:58:33 PM Canto: Yep! This is true. Roll a die. 7:58:45 PM Crow: ((3. Crap.)) 8:01:56 PM Canto: It's hard, because you're not sure what the layout of this little maze is, and you can't put a hand on one of the pipes to guide you because they're too hot, so it's slow going. You suddenly remember a session for your training, though. Doc tranced you, and stuck you in a sauna with the suggestion that you can't open your eyes, while Dalton lurked around the mist. it was a training exercise to help refine your sensory powers to use it as a radar. 8:03:15 PM Crow: Crow tries to feel out where the malevolent entity is, then! 8:09:49 PM Canto: Roll! 8:12:59 PM Crow: ((5)) 8:14:42 PM Canto: The entity is kind o f alla round you. But you can feel its presence in the pipes... which, if you concentrate, can create kind of a map to get you through the room! You just have to keep your eyes shut tight. 8:15:28 PM Crow: Crow jams them tight shut, and starts moving! 8:16:02 PM Canto: Pew! One of the rivets wings you in the arm! 8:16:14 PM Crow: Crow ignores it and persists! 8:16:19 PM Canto: You're sweating pretty bad at this point, it goes without saying. 8:18:24 PM Crow: Crow is! Might have some burns, too! 8:19:43 PM Canto: You get through the room and tumble out of the other door, where you get a blast of cool air. roll! 8:20:55 PM Crow: ((5.)) 8:22:03 PM Canto: You feel faint but you don't pass out when you get out. 8:22:30 PM Crow: Crow pants, and opens her eyes, wiping the sweat off her face. 8:24:32 PM Canto: Everything's quiet for the moment. You're in a laundry room. 8:25:23 PM Crow: Crow leans on a wall for a moment, and then starts looking for a way back to Ruby. 8:27:14 PM Canto: Well, there's a door out of the laundry room The only way back is through the still steam-filled boiler room. 8:27:50 PM Crow: Crow tries the door out of the laundry room. 8:30:47 PM Canto: As you move over to that door, one of the big tumble driers slooooowly creaks open. 8:31:00 PM Crow: Crow peers inside! 8:36:58 PM Canto: An arm shoots out and grabs your forearm! Your flashlight flickers out. When it comes back on, your arm is released, the ghost arm is gone, and the words 'Help us' are written on the wall. 8:37:26 PM Crow: I'm trying, honestly. 8:37:44 PM Crow: But I need information. The newspaper clipping and the photograph were good. 8:41:10 PM Crow: ((Odd.)) 8:46:49 PM Canto: There's no answer! Just the door out of the laundry room now. 8:48:53 PM Crow: Crow heads out. "Ruby?" 8:54:55 PM Canto: No answer from her! You're still in the basement. You find a short hallway. You're getting at this point, given relative positions, you're under the Foyer, and a hallway stretches out to under the east wing of the house. 8:56:17 PM Crow: Crow keeps going, with the flashlight in her hand but otherwise, trying not to look threatening. 8:58:55 PM Canto: You find a room that mostly seems to be storage. At teh center of the room, there is a hole in the concrete floor, rougly covered with a plastic tarp. 8:59:17 PM Crow: Crow pulls the tarp aside. 9:02:45 PM Canto: There's a coffin in the hole. Not a fancy one, just the roughly hewn wooden box type of coffin. 9:03:33 PM Crow: ... huh. 9:03:40 PM Crow: Crow tries to get down there and get the lid off. 9:24:34 PM Canto: It's not hard! There's an old body in there, in a very nice dress. roll a die. 9:25:31 PM Crow: ((8!)) 9:28:27 PM Canto: She was laid to rest with love, appparently, in her nicest dress, wearing her nicest jewelry, but her ring finger is broken off and there's no sign of a ring, which seems odd. 9:28:57 PM Crow: Ew, someone ripped off your finger! That sucks. I'm sorry. 9:29:16 PM Crow: ((Is the finger still there, or is that gone too?)) 9:30:47 PM Canto: She can find the finger, it's still in the casket. I mean, the body is pretty dessicated and dry, mostly a skeleton. 9:31:14 PM Crow: Somebody took your ring, huh? 9:33:43 PM Crow: I'll try to find it, if that'll help. 9:34:13 PM Crow: Crow puts the lady's lid back on and starts looking for a way back to the other part of the house that doesn't involve being parboiled. 9:37:35 PM Canto: You can find a staircase up! 9:38:11 PM Crow: Crow heads up the stairs! 9:47:42 PM Crow: Crow then looks around, and also keeps an ear out for Ruby. 9:49:31 PM Canto: You don't hear here! The stairs go up a couple a stories and you find yourself in a very nice hallway -- probably bedrooms in here. 9:49:44 PM Crow: Crow bllinks. 9:50:13 PM Crow: What kind of servant's stairwell doesn't go to the kitchen on the main floor? ... must've been added on later or something... hm. 9:50:33 PM Crow: Crow starts looking for a way back down to the main floor so she can find Ruby! 9:51:20 PM Canto: You think you find a spot tthat used to be a door heading back to the first floor, but it's a door that's been bricked over for some reason. 9:52:46 PM Crow: Oh. 9:52:49 PM Crow: Darn it. 9:54:20 PM Canto: You think you're on the second floor... there are no signs of fire damage, after all. 9:55:34 PM Crow: Hmm. 9:56:23 PM Crow: Crow starts looking for a way back down to the main floor. And then blinks, and tries her earpiece. "Hey? Guys?" 9:57:37 PM Canto: Static! 9:58:41 PM Crow: ... rats. 9:59:00 PM Crow: Crow has to find a way down now. Communication is key when working with a team. No exploring except in order to find a way back down! 10:01:49 PM Canto: You make your way down the hallway! Up head, when you're flicking your flashlight about, you spot a woman in a bloody white dress pointing into one o the rooms lining the hallway. 10:02:17 PM Crow: ... well, okay. I did ask for your help. Thanks. 10:03:18 PM Crow: Crow goes into the room the ghost suggested. She's... still learning about teams. 10:04:45 PM Canto: The ghost was down the hallway quite a bit, and by the time you get there, she's gone, of course. In the room, you find an easel with a half-finished painting on it... someone was getting a portrait done in here. 10:06:14 PM Crow: ... oh... 10:06:20 PM Crow: Crow tries to see if it looks like anyone familiar. 10:12:27 PM Canto: It's a man and a woman. From the way they're posed, you'd guess husband and wife. The paining is unfinished... their heads are in color, and their bodies are mostly outlined with pencil. But above the husband someone has crudely painted something monstrous, hovering just over his head. There's a hint of serpentine eyes and scales and fangs and claws. 10:14:09 PM Crow: Crow frowns. 10:14:28 PM Crow: I don't know if that means he was a monster or if the monster was after him. ... or both. 10:17:25 PM Crow: Crow picks up the painting, after a careful examination, and then heads back into the hallway looking for that down staircase. 10:18:13 PM Canto: roll a die! 10:18:40 PM Crow: ((10!)) 10:24:44 PM Canto: Woot! Okay. As you're giving the room a once-over, you find an old book. 10:25:31 PM Crow: ... huh. 10:25:38 PM Crow: Crow looks at it before picking up the painting. 10:32:30 PM Canto: It's a diary of a woman named Mary. Apaprently she and her husband Bill were invited to this house by a friend of the family for their honeymoon. The first couple entries talk about how nice it is here, how nice veryone one is, etc. She met a woman here, another friend of the family who was recently divorced. This woman is a painter, and offered to paint Mary and Bill for free! 10:33:01 PM Crow: Huh. 10:33:13 PM Crow: Crow keeps reading. "It did look like a good painting. Except the scary thing." 10:36:40 PM Canto: Apparently, Mary only recently started keeping the journal on the advice of her therapist. You're not sure what she needed the therapist about. Her husband is apparently very supportive. 10:37:59 PM Canto: She starts spending a lot of time with a woman named Lynn, who is apparently the painter. Lynn makes no secret of her attraction to Mary. Mary rebuffs her advances, as she's a married woman, and finds it very flattering more than anything else. 10:38:19 PM Crow: ... aww. That's sad. 10:40:16 PM Canto: Then one day, lynn gave her a ring. Mary refused to accept the gift -- too expensive looking. lynn kept trying to get her accept it, but Mary kept rebuffing her, less gently as time went on. At this point, Mary has pretty much decided that this has ruined her honeymoon. She didn't tell anything to Bill about all of this, but he could tell something was bothering her, so they were getting ready to leave. 10:41:57 PM Crow: Crow frowns. 10:42:12 PM Crow: Is that all? That's just a bad situation. 10:43:16 PM Canto: She took a nap one day, and woke up with the ring around her finger. She was freaking out about this... Lyn broke into her room while she was asleep and put the ring on her finger. While she was sleeping. The last entry is her talking about going to tell Lynn to stay away. 10:44:26 PM Crow: ...that is pretty stalkerish. 10:46:56 PM Canto: That's where it leaves off. You'd say that this was their bedroom. 10:49:08 PM Crow: Crow takes the book and the painting and goes back to looking for the down stairwell. 10:56:03 PM Canto: All right! We'll leave it here, I think. 7:42:02 PM Canto: So, when last we left, Crow had found a diary and a painting. 7:46:34 PM Crow: Crow had, and wanted to take them both back with her to the others! 7:47:07 PM Canto: She's starting to put the story of this place together, somewhat! 7:48:03 PM Crow: Crow is! A love triangle and a corpse in the basement! 7:50:10 PM Canto: Yeah, you're not sure how basement corpse fits in with this. Roll a die! 7:51:50 PM Crow: ((10! There goes my good roll.)) 7:56:09 PM Canto: So you're workin' on getting back to the first floor. You spot a doorway at the end of this hallway that you're in, that, if your mental map of this place is accurate, should lead out to the seond floor mezzanine and let you get back to the base camp that the others were setting up near the foyer. As you head down the hallway, all the windows explode inwards, showering you with glass! Though you manage to duck down and avoid getting hit by the large, damaging shards. 7:57:50 PM Crow: Woah! 7:59:30 PM Canto: It's a bit jarring and startling, definitely! You also start to feel some heat coming from the ceiling. 8:01:30 PM Crow: Crow runs, grateful she's wearing shoes. 8:06:06 PM Canto: You run down the hall! It's all very exciting, as more windows explode inward as you run for the door! 8:08:05 PM Crow: Oh crap! 8:08:09 PM Crow: Crow scampers! 8:09:05 PM Canto: You reach the door, a heavy wooden double door. It's locked, and has one of those old fashioned keyholes. 8:11:26 PM Crow: Oh come on! 8:11:31 PM Crow: Crow tries to kick it open! 8:14:51 PM Canto: Roll to keeeeeek! 8:15:41 PM Crow: ((3!)) 8:16:25 PM Canto: It doesn't break down! It's pretty quiet now, that all the windows have exploded. 8:18:03 PM Canto: One of the nearby bedroom doors creaks open. 8:18:29 PM Crow: ... okay, fine, just... no more glass, okay? 8:18:32 PM Crow: Crow goes in there. 8:19:31 PM Canto: It's another bedroom! 8:19:51 PM Crow: Crow sets the painting and the book down and starts looking around. 8:23:00 PM Canto: The door slams shut behind you, leaving you in total darkness. 8:24:06 PM Crow: .... I am trying, you know. 8:24:14 PM Crow: Crow turns on her flashlight. 8:25:03 PM Canto: Written in blood, on the back wall, over the bed, are the words 'GET OUT SHES MINE'. 8:25:53 PM Crow: ... not if she doesn't want to be. Consent is very important. 8:27:52 PM Canto: No response! 8:28:08 PM Canto: The blood kinda dribbles down the wall onto the bed. 8:28:19 PM Crow: Crow investigates under the bed! 8:31:01 PM Canto: You find a body. Missing a head. Been here for a few decades at least. Looks like a woman. From her pose, she was hiding, and peeked her head out. 8:31:49 PM Crow: ... I'm so sorry. 8:32:59 PM Crow: Crow checks her for the ring, as respectfully as possible. 8:33:38 PM Canto: You find it. 8:36:36 PM Crow: Crow pockets it, grabs the rest of the stuff and heads out. 8:38:54 PM Canto: You notice that before you pocket the ring, it's definitely magical. 8:39:19 PM Canto: Or something. It makes your spider sense tingle. 8:41:18 PM Canto: Roll a die! 8:41:37 PM Crow: ((10. I like this dice roller much better than the other one so far.)) 8:42:40 PM Canto: you hear someone's voice calling for you! Sounds like Ruby. "Crow! Are you okay? Where are you?" 8:44:57 PM Crow: I'm okay! I'm on the second floor I think! 8:45:04 PM Crow: Are you okay? 8:45:49 PM Canto: The voice seems to be coming down the hall, from the direction you came upstairs from. Still distant, though. "Yeah, I'm okay!" 8:50:13 PM Crow: Great! 8:50:32 PM Crow: Crow goes toward Ruby's voice! 8:52:46 PM Canto: you head back down the hallway, over the shards of glass! It's worth noting that it's super dark outside now... you came here at 3 or four in the afternoon, but it's pitch dark outside now. 8:54:05 PM Crow: ... huh. 8:56:28 PM Crow: Crow hurries for Ruby! 8:57:33 PM Canto: You get to the end of the hallway! There's the door that leads to the stairway down, and a door you missed earlier, somehow. No Ruby. 8:58:33 PM Crow: ... thank you. 8:58:46 PM Crow: Crow opens the door she missed! 9:01:57 PM Canto: Stairs going up! 9:02:17 PM Crow: Crow heads up there! 9:04:13 PM Canto: You go up the stairs, and start seeing more and more signs of the fire that took the top floor and a lot of the third. 9:04:30 PM Canto: Roll! 9:04:49 PM Crow: ((5!)) 9:08:40 PM Canto: This seems like a floor that was once devoted to larger, 'deluxe' bedrooms and suites. Everything is in done in very nice wood paneling. 9:10:30 PM Canto: There is old dried blood on the floor. 9:10:48 PM Crow: ... geez. 9:10:54 PM Crow: Crow follows the blood trail! 9:11:57 PM Canto: It leads to a double door, with the same old style keyhole. Also locked. 9:15:13 PM Crow: Crow tries to kick the door down. 9:16:36 PM Canto: You can just hear muffled voices of an argument, a man and a woman! Roll to keeeeeek. 9:16:53 PM Crow: ((7!)) 9:19:02 PM Canto: There's no one in here, of course! But you find a bunch of blood, inside this very very nice bedroom suite. 9:21:01 PM Crow: ... hm. 9:21:58 PM Canto: gonna look around? 9:22:02 PM Crow: Crow does. 9:22:43 PM Canto: You find a book in the bedstand, looksl ike an old bible, but it's stuffed with newspaper clippings. 9:24:04 PM Crow: Crow inspects them! 9:24:12 PM Crow: Crow is looking for something relevant to the house or to the people in it. 9:26:38 PM Canto: Yep. all of the clippings are relevant -- they mostly talk about the discovery of the 'Final Resting Place of the Hill Pines Witch'. It seems that this woman was buried on the land here, but when the house was built, no one knew about it. Then an archaelogist did the work and found out she was buried on this piece of land. 9:27:19 PM Canto: They got permission from the owners of the house at the time and sure enough, they found her. They dug her up in the basement, seems that the foundations just happened to go around her coffin. 9:28:12 PM Canto: The house's owners thought about making a little exhibit about her, but they couldn't find enough folklore about the woman, so it kinda got shelved. 9:30:44 PM Canto: Looking around the room, it's clear from the clothes and such that a woman stayed here. You can find a bunch of photos from the couple from the painting here on the desk-- likely reference materials they provided to the painter. About half of the husband's photos have been defaced, especially those that show the couple together. 9:32:25 PM Crow: ... yeah, but was it you that was the bad guy, or was it him? Can't tell from these. And maybe one of you was possessed by the witch or something. Can't blame her either, I wouldn't like to spend eternity trapped in a basement. 9:35:05 PM Canto: Roll! 9:35:29 PM Crow: ((5.)) 9:37:08 PM Canto: Ruby: Crow? You up here? Please tell me you're up here. 9:37:16 PM Canto: You hear her voice from just outside the room. 9:37:26 PM Crow: Yeah, I'm in here. 9:37:30 PM Crow: C'mon in. 9:43:18 PM Canto: She comes in! "There you are. Are you okay?" She looks a bit rough too, with her shirt torn in a few places. 9:45:10 PM Crow: Yeah! Are you? 9:45:14 PM Crow: I found some stuff. 9:45:53 PM Crow: Crow explains what happened to her! 9:45:54 PM Canto: She frowns and indicates a cut on her shoulder. "Damn windows blew up. Or in." 9:46:06 PM Crow: Yeah, I got showered in glass too. 9:46:51 PM Crow: Crow tells her about the corpses and the clippings and the ring! And shows her the ring! 9:49:36 PM Canto: She frowns. "It's not even that pretty a ring." 9:49:54 PM Crow: Well I didn't shine it up and it was on a corpse. 9:50:05 PM Crow: Two corpses, apparently. I'm not sure how the witch fits in. 9:56:21 PM Crow: ... someone cared about the woman buried down there. I don't know if that was the witch or if someone made the married lady into a mock witch. 9:57:33 PM Canto: Ruby: ghosts are notoriously unclear and unresponsive to direct questions. 9:57:41 PM Canto: She frowns. "C'mon, let's get back to the boys." 9:57:46 PM Crow: They're trying to help, though. I think. 9:57:57 PM Crow: Yeah! 9:59:35 PM Canto: You guys head out of the room! 10:01:50 PM Crow: Well, at least you haven't been possessed yet! 10:03:28 PM Crow: And you look fabulous in grunge. 10:04:30 PM Canto: Ruby: Huh. Crow? 10:04:50 PM Crow: Yeah? 10:07:08 PM Canto: You turn to face her and Ruby is swinging an axe at you! "Sorry. Truth is I am super possessed right now. I'm supposed to kill all you people. Then myself. That's what the voice says." Her first shot goes wide, and she buries her axe in the floorboards. 10:07:34 PM Crow: Awww. Well you're still rockin' the look. 10:07:43 PM Crow: Crow drops the stuff and takes a defensive stance. 10:07:55 PM Crow: Is the voice male or female or kind of both? 10:09:46 PM Crow: Crow looks for something to defend herself against the axe with. 10:11:09 PM Canto: Ruby: Kinda a whisper! But still. Gotta do what I gotta do! Sorry! 10:11:13 PM Canto: She swings again! 10:11:23 PM Crow: Crow dodges! 10:11:30 PM Crow: Why is the person mad? 10:11:42 PM Canto: She kinda broadcasts her moves so she's not hard to dodge, especiallyw hen she's swinging a two handed axe around. 10:12:31 PM Crow: bein' buried in a basement? Thwarted love? 10:13:26 PM Canto: Ruby: Um. Didn't say! I think that whoever it is is afraid of losing something. Just the impression I get, you know? And that's why we all have to die. 10:13:31 PM Canto: She swings again! Roll a die. 10:13:57 PM Crow: ((10!)) 10:15:19 PM Crow: Maybe we could help get it back! 10:15:50 PM Canto: Ruby is currently making your spidersense tingle something awful. As you dodge her blow, she buries the axe head in another locked door, causing it to open. you see someone in there, vaguely, the headless woman, the woman with the white bloody dress. She's beckoning you in frantically. 10:16:26 PM Crow: Crow follows her. 10:16:36 PM Canto: Ruby: Nope! We have to die. If we don't, we'll take... something away, and we can't have that! 10:17:17 PM Canto: You tumble into the room and the doors close behind you! Ruby pounds on them. 10:18:25 PM Canto: this is another bedroom, more gutted by fire... in fact, there's a hole in the ceiling that lets you see up through the burnt out forth floor and the night sky! 10:19:04 PM Crow: Crow looks up. 10:20:01 PM Canto: You see the headless lady again, standing at the edge of the hole, urging you up. 10:20:14 PM Canto: Ruby starts going at the heavy wooden door with the axe. 10:21:48 PM Crow: Crow tries to climb up the hole! 10:21:57 PM Canto: Roll! 10:23:18 PM Crow: ((5)) 10:23:51 PM Canto: YOu grab a chair and kinda hop up, scrambling up the ledge. 10:25:43 PM Crow: Crow hurries! 10:27:13 PM Canto: You're on the fourth flour! This is pretty much completely gutted by the fire, charred beams and floorboard and mostly open to the sky. There's moss growing here and there. 10:28:56 PM Crow: Crow starts looking around, but carefully, because the floor might not be stable. 10:29:40 PM Canto: roll! 10:29:51 PM | Removed 10:30:45 PM Crow: This message has been removed. 10:30:05 PM Crow: (( +6)) 10:31:47 PM Canto: Drawing on your experience during fire investigations, you can maybe figure out where the fire started! 10:34:51 PM Crow: Crow tries to work it out. 10:39:19 PM Canto: It takes a little bit, but you do find where the fire started, a horrible burnt out room that is pretty much just a floor at this point. There's some kind of weird arcane symbols carved into the floorboards here. 10:40:03 PM Crow: ... well, so. 10:40:07 PM Crow: I still have no idea who's responsible. 10:43:30 PM Canto: Roll! 10:43:52 PM Crow: ((10. Okay now I'm wondering if this dice roller is equally broken the OTHER way.)) 10:44:34 PM Canto: The floorboards under the carved arcane runes are loose! 10:45:57 PM Crow: Crow tries to pull one up to see, but only if it won't totally destabilize the floor. 10:46:57 PM Canto: Yep! you find a box, looks like an old cigar box. 10:47:09 PM Crow: Crow opens it. 10:52:37 PM Canto: It's a collection of items. There's a lock of black hair. An old tube of lipstick. A silver catholic st. Medallion. what looks like nail clippings. A vial full of various spices and herbs, it seems. And a piece of paper with what you'd guess is a spell. "To Bind -- Gather Blood and Hair and Bone and Spittle from the object of your affection. Gather an icon that is dear. Sacrifice whomever holds their heart. Cleanse with Fire." 10:54:18 PM Crow: Crow tries to work out whether the handwriting is a woman's or a man's! 10:59:05 PM Canto: YOu can't tell. Roll a die! 10:59:39 PM Crow: ((6+)) 11:02:42 PM Canto: You find some human remains not far from there. Mostly burned bones at this point. Defintely identifiable as male. 11:03:09 PM Crow: ... I'm sorry I thought it was you, sir. 11:04:38 PM Crow: But to be totally fair... well, it could still have been you, I guess, but it doesn't seem as likely now. 11:05:16 PM Crow: ((Was the body in the basement dressed like it could have been the woman honeymooner, or like the witch?)) 11:05:36 PM Canto: The body in the basement was wearing a very nice, old-fashioned blue dress. 11:05:55 PM Canto: Roll a die! 11:06:08 PM Crow: ((3)) 11:09:24 PM Canto: Ruby surprises you, swinging an axe from behind you! "Ooooooooh, the whisper is very very angry now, Crow. Says that we definitely have to die before you let her go. the voice says, and I quote: She's mine! Mine! Mine! You won't take her away!'" 11:09:45 PM Crow: Yiii! 11:09:51 PM Crow: Crow jumps back. 11:11:24 PM Canto: "'She wouldn't be mine in life! So she's mine in death!' which I would normally say is totally overwrought prose, but, you know. not my place to criticize." Ruby says as she misses you, and hits the brittle floorboards. 11:12:25 PM Crow: Well, you make a cute lesbian or bisexual person or pansexual person? 11:12:38 PM Crow: Crow tries to get back to the hole in the floor so she can climb back down. 11:13:58 PM Canto: Roll! 11:14:59 PM Crow: ((5)) 11:20:56 PM Canto: You scramble down the hole, kinda throwing yourself down to escape the WRATH OF WRUBY. You kinda aim for the bed but dont' quite make it, landing on the floor. 11:21:23 PM Crow: Ow, shit. 11:21:33 PM Canto: There's a half-burned composition-type notebook under the bed! 11:21:50 PM Crow: Crow grabs it and tries to run to a place Ruby isn't so she can look at it! 11:22:52 PM Canto: Easy enough, as Ruby seems to be a bit slower than normal. You can dodge out of that room and back into the hallway. 11:23:46 PM Crow: Crow heads into the hallway. 11:23:54 PM Crow: Crow snatches a few moments to read the notebook. 11:30:33 PM Canto: There's not a lot, only a few pages, and there's a lot of water damage, but you can make out the important stuff. "... did everything. Got all the things the spell called for. But it didn't work! She told me she was leaving! So there's only one last thing to try. I'm damned at this point, nothing to lose. I need the witches' ring. Gotta get her to wear it by the end. then the sacrifices. Then the fire. Then we'll be together forever." 11:32:39 PM Crow: ... then it was the artist. 11:32:55 PM Crow: Well, that sucks for everyone. 11:35:39 PM Crow: Crow ponders. 11:35:46 PM Crow: How do I let her go? 11:39:22 PM Canto: Ruby: Noooo, you're not supposed to let her go. Hold on, Crow, let's not drag this out, I like you quite a bit. 11:40:32 PM Crow: Aww, that's sweet. 11:42:38 PM Canto: Ruby: Well, I've been told that we'll all also be here forever. So it won't be so bad. 11:44:44 PM Crow: Aww. We could cuddle in the afterlife! Not with psychokillerlady, though, she's mean. 11:45:07 PM Crow: Crow starts heading back toward the boiler room. Better to be boiled alive than to get axed. 11:47:24 PM Canto: Back to the stairs down to the basement, then? 11:47:39 PM Canto: Roll! 11:48:02 PM Crow: ((5.)) 11:50:04 PM Canto: You dodge around Ruby as she swings! "Mmmm. She seems to be really mean, yeah. I wouldn't like her at all, normally." 11:50:10 PM Canto: You get to the stairs! 11:50:37 PM Crow: Crow runs down them! 11:53:08 PM Canto: Where are you headed? 11:54:02 PM Crow: Crow really really wants to get back to the others. 11:55:14 PM Canto: You pass through the storage room where the coffin was. 11:55:51 PM Crow: Crow still trying to get back to the others! She's not interested in a showdown on equal terms! 11:57:24 PM Canto: you pass through the boiler room! It's now mercifully free of steam. 11:58:10 PM Crow: Crow tries to run on up into the foyer to meet the boys. And Felix's tranq darts. 12:00:04 AM Canto: You find Jasper! He looks relieved to see you. "Crow! What's happening?" 12:00:36 AM Crow: Ruby's possessed and she has an axe. 12:01:19 AM Crow: There was a love triangle and the lady artist was the bad guy and I have a ring that belonged to a witch buried in the basement and how do you do an exorcism because I think we're gonna need to know in about 15 seconds! 12:03:23 AM Canto: Jasper: ... how was this all done, then? Do you know what's keeping them here? 12:04:04 AM Crow: Yeah, the lady artist did a ritual on the third floor and sacrificed the newlywed man so she could keep the newlywed woman here forever. 12:04:32 AM Crow: The witch was buried in the basement and she had a special ring and the lady artist used that as part of the ritual. Pretty sure it's magic or something. 12:04:36 AM Crow: Crow hands the ring to Jasper. 12:05:16 AM Crow: The newlywed woman has been trying to help me. I haven't seen the man yet, I'm not sure he's still here. 12:05:33 AM Crow: The artist is super-pissed though, and she's got Ruby! 12:05:38 AM Canto: he looks at it, muttering to himself. "So the ring is a component, if there was a wtich here... could be as simple as giving her back the ring." 12:06:10 AM Canto: JAsper: ... possessed how? Is she communicating through her? Or is Ruby more of a controlled puppet? 12:06:21 AM Crow: Through her and controlled. 12:06:48 AM Crow: Ruby's still talking like herself, like the spirit is in her brain or something and she's relaying messages. But she's also trying to kill me with an axe. 12:25:24 AM Canto: Jasper: Okay, good. Bodily possessions are much more messy. 12:26:36 AM Crow: She's not gonna get hurt, is she? 12:28:25 AM Canto: Jasper: No. It sounds like she just got caught up with all the magic binding everything together here. Soundsl ike this painter tapped into this witch's power, using her ring and all. It could be as simple as putting the ring back. 12:29:52 AM Crow: I can go do that, if you can distract Ruby for me for a while. 12:29:55 AM Crow: When she gets here. 12:30:48 AM Canto: Jasper nods, and puts his finger to his ear. "Felix! need you here, now." 12:31:46 AM Crow: Isn't it weird that she got possessed and not me? 12:31:50 AM Canto: You spot Ruby down the hallway, having just come up from the basement. She's running toward you guys. "Hi Jasper! Have to kill you now. Sorry. I know the axe seems excessive, but I have my orders!" 12:32:22 AM Canto: Jasper: Not really. Ruby's pretty sensitive to certain things. 12:32:31 AM Canto: Jasper: ...be ready. 12:32:34 AM Crow: Yeah, but I'm the odd man out in a weird cuddle-triangle. 12:32:36 AM Crow: Right. 12:32:51 AM Crow: Crow gets ready to try to fight Ruby. 12:34:25 AM Canto: Jasper: What do you mean odd man out? 12:35:33 AM Crow: Well, I get the feeling they're kinda on-again-off-again and I don't wanna screw that up. Makes me nervous about joining the cuddlepile. 12:36:45 AM Canto: Jasper: Don't worry about it so much. We all like you quite a bit. 12:37:00 AM Canto: Ruby runs down the hall at you, axe over her head! 12:37:35 AM Crow: Yeah, but... oh crap. 12:37:52 AM Crow: Crow focuses on Ruby, very calm. 12:38:36 AM Crow: Crow will be focusing on dodging and blocking until there's an opening to take the axe away. 12:39:22 AM Canto: Roll! 12:40:45 AM | Removed 12:41:22 AM Crow: This message has been removed. 12:41:14 AM Crow: ((8...)) 12:41:44 AM Canto: You dodge! Pretty easily. Possessed Ruby isn't as good a fighter. She seems super distracted. 12:43:11 AM Crow: Yeah, fight it, Ruby! 12:44:43 AM Canto: Ruby: Fight what? It's just kinda hard to concentrate with the voice in my head, that's all. I'll kill us all, just you watch! She swings at you again! 12:45:11 AM Crow: Crow will be patient, and dodge and block until the time comes to grab the axe or hit the axe out of her hands! 12:46:00 AM Canto: All of a sudden, she spasms violently as Jasper hits her with a taser! "Ow! Jasper, tasers *hurt*!" 12:47:05 AM Canto: (Roll for me again.)) 12:47:58 AM Crow: ((10! Yeah!!!)) 12:48:54 AM Canto: You're able to get the axe out of her hand pretty easily, just as a dart materializes in her neck! "Ow! Dammit, Felix, how am I supposed to kill us all with all this interference!" 12:49:15 AM Canto: Felix is standing on the stairs leading up to the second floor mezzanine. 12:51:10 AM Crow: Crow thinks they have this under control, buuuut brings the axe with her and sprints down to the basement. 12:51:30 AM Canto: Jasper: Go! 12:51:37 AM Canto: Ruby thrashes, but she's slowing down. 12:51:43 AM Canto: You go back down to the basement! 12:51:59 AM Canto: Doors start slamming in your face. 12:52:12 AM Crow: Crow tries to get to the coffin room! 12:54:33 AM Canto: The axe helps with the getting through doors! You're able to get through the boiiler room before it fills up with steam again. , and get to the room with the coffin. 12:54:56 AM Crow: Crow opens the lid and sticks the ring on the lady's finger! 12:55:18 AM Crow: Crow will then try to put her poor finger back with the rest of her hand. :( 12:55:26 AM Crow: Sorry, I know it's not perfect. 12:57:27 AM Canto: Apparently it's the thought that counts, as you get a bunch of tingles that kinda swell through you, then just slowly dissipate, and when it's done, there's no more tingles anywhere. 12:58:17 AM Crow: ((The haunting is gone?)) 12:59:01 AM Canto: Feels like it! Your spider sense no longer tingles. 1:03:42 AM Crow: Crow closes the lid. "... I'll see about getting you reburied somewhere nicer. Maybe outside in a nice place with grass and stuff. And the other ones too. Y'all do deserve better." 1:03:54 AM Crow: Crow pats the lid and heads back upstairs to check on the others. 1:04:58 AM Canto: Jasper and Felix are standing around Ruby, who is snoring. 1:06:32 AM Crow: Aww, she's so cute like this. We should bring her back to the trailer, though, or she's gonna be all sore when she wakes up. Haunting's gone. 1:07:30 AM Canto: Jasper nods. "Good work, Crow." 1:08:15 AM Canto: Felix: I found some bones on the second floor. From what Jasper said you found, sounds like it was this painter. And, um, an extra head. 1:09:01 AM Crow: Yeah, she's under the bed. I guess the artist cut her head off. 1:09:24 AM Crow: ... not very nice. I don't date a whole lot, but I definitely wouldn't cut somebody's head off if I liked them. 1:12:30 AM Canto: Felix: And she burned the place down. 1:12:37 AM Crow: Yeah. 1:12:48 AM Canto: Jasper: I'll make arrangements for their remains to be properly buried. 1:12:53 AM Crow: ...although to be totally fair, burning places down is really fun. 1:13:04 AM Crow: Don't forget the nice lady in the basement. 1:15:53 AM Canto: Jasper: Of course. 1:18:40 AM Canto: Felix: ... grab her feet, we'll get her into the RV. 1:19:12 AM Crow: Nah, I got her, she's not that big. 1:19:26 AM Crow: Crow picks up Ruby. Hey, she's a fireman! She's got loads of muscles. 1:21:30 AM Canto: Well, Ruby is pretty big. 1:22:29 AM Crow: Crow had to be able to pick up 300-pound men while wearing gear. 1:22:52 AM Crow: Crow is actually pretty good at lifting people, it's one of the things they specifically train for! 1:23:05 AM Canto: Mostly I mean that she's tall, not that she's too heavy for Crow. 1:23:49 AM Crow: Crow can deal with that too, though. Really, she did train for this. 1:24:25 AM Canto: felix lets you! 1:24:39 AM Crow: ... let you get the door though.